Wild Ocean 3D (2008)

[bunniefuu]

For centuries we have considered

the ocean a vast limitless resource.

Why shouldn't we?

There were shoals of fish

too big to imagine.

And we didn't just need to eat

the fish and the whales we took...

...we needed their oil

for fuel, for power and light.

Yet one by one, fisheries were

depleted around the world.

In the Mediterranean, the

north Atlantic, and the pacific.

The fish we took were at

the centre of a delicate food chain

that connected the

tiniest micro-organisms

to the largest animals

on the Earth.

Break the food chain by

taking too much from the sea,

and one by one,

the other predators disappear.

But there is a place where

man still shares the ocean,

where the food chain

is still unbroken.

This is where

Africa meets the Sea.

We are in the Transkei...

...on the Eastern coast

of South Africa.

Each winter, the coastline

becomes a battleground

where tropical predators

meet cold water prey

in one of the greatest

natural events on the planet.

Gigantic shoals of fish,

pursued by the highest concentration

of ocean predators in the world,

will head here,

to a place called...

the Wild Coast.

With no safe harbor

for hundreds of miles,

it is a remote

ocean wilderness.

Here we can have a glimpse

of what the oceans of the world

might have looked like

hundreds of years ago.

Here, beneath the waves,

we will witness

the circle of life.

These are the Sardines.

They are a valuable

source of protein

for every predator at

the top of the food chain.

They are central to

the oceanic ecosystem.

For just a few weeks each winter,

millions of sardines find themselves

drawn into the shallow water

creating shoals up

to ten miles long.

From the air, they could

be mistaken for an oil slick.

The sardines follow

the cold water currents

sweeping northwards from

the Southern Cape of Africa,

pursuing the plankton

and nutrients they crave.

This can bring them

as far as the Wild Coast,

and perhaps even further north

to the beaches of KwaZulu Natal,

where another

predator awaits them.

Passing northwards from

the Wild Coast into KwaZulu Natal

is like entering

a different world,

a different South Africa.

This is where Zulu and

Western culture come together,

sharing a common link.

A connection with the sea.

Industry came to this region

from the land and

the sugar cane fields,

but there is another kind

of wealth in the ocean.

When the sardine shoals

pass north of the wild coast,

opposing warm water currents

can force the cold water,

closer to the shore.

If this happens, thousands

and thousands of fish

can be literally swept up

on the beaches

in a potential bonanza

for the local fisherman.

Fishermen look for dolphins and

gannets arriving from the south.

tell tale signs that

sardines are on their way.

But for now they

prepare their nets, and wait.

Not so far away,

just beneath the waves,

another resident of this coastline

is waiting for the shoals.

These Bottlenose Dolphins

will work together in groups

using their sonar to

track down the sardines.

The sardines begin their journey

hundreds of miles south

of the Wild Coast

near the fishing ports

Mossel Bay and Port Elizabeth.

It is also home to

some of the predators

that will pursue them.

This is a colony of

over 60.000 gannets,

many of whom will

make the journey north.

They will be joined

by Cape Fur Seals.

These seals have traveled

only a short distance

from the Eastern Cape

and have found a shoal,

not of sardines, but of

a baitfish called Massbunker.

The school of fish has formed

what is known as a baitball

in an effort to confuse

the predators and protect itself.

The shoal moves

and changes shape

allmost as if it

is a single entity.

By swimming close together,

and only reacting to

the movement of their neighbor,

every single fish contributes

to this "shoal intelligence".

Another predator

attacks the baitball:

the streamlining and speed

of the African Penguin

is too much

for the massbunker.

Nevertheless, this shoal

is actually going to escape,

returning to the depths.

Many factors can affect the

progress of the sardine shoals.

As global warming

raises sea temperatures,

the fish may be forced

further away from the coast

into deeper and colder water.

This far south, they

face another hazard...

Fishing boats take thousands

of tons of sardines each year.

The quantity of sardines taken

is strictly regulated by

the South African government

in an effort to ensure

the fishery is sustainable.

But there is allways the possibility

that whatever is taken here,

may reduce the number

of sardines heading north.

Back on the Wild Coast,

Common Dolphins begin to

arrive from the colder waters

of western and

southern South Africa.

They are not native to this

warmer, subtropical waters.

In June and July,

joining the sardine hunt,

they forget the

territorial differrences

and gather in pods

of up to 4 or 5000.

There can be as many

as 20.000 of them here,

off the Transkei.

Their presence is a sure sign

that the shoals are approaching.

There is a higher concentration

of shark species

here in South Africa

than everywhere

else in the world.

Perfectly evolved sea hunters,

Sharks can detect their prey

from a distance of several miles.

So when the shoals

begin to arrive,

you can be sure these Black Tips,

Copperheads and Duskys

will be among

the first to find them.

The nets, that have

been dettering sharks

from the

KwaZulu Natal beaches

are being removed,

in anticipation of

the approaching shoals.

Too many predators

could be trapped

if the nets were to remain.

It is here, that

the earliest evidence

of man's relationship with

the sea has been discovered.

As the fishermen wait for

the arrival of the sardines,

these women collect

shellfish from rock pools,

in a tradition

that we now know,

dates back over

a 160.000 years.

Every cold front that

arrives from the south

brings with it cooler air,

and colder water,

drawing the sardines

further and further north.

Traveling alongside them

is another winter visitor...

Humpback whales head

northwards like steam trains

towards their

winter breeding grounds

in the warm

waters of Mozambique.

Whilst their arrival coincides

with the sardine shoals,

perhaps they are

more spectators

than participants

in this annual event.

Breaching is a common

site from the shoreline

at this time of year

...as the grand procession

of hundreds of Humpbacks

proceeds northwards.

Dawn on the

KwaZulu Natal coast.

As the dolphins and gannets track

down the shoals out at sea,

the people here are

still watching, still waiting

Every winter storm disrupts

the mild South African climate,

with cold currents carrying the

sardines further and further north

and warm currents pushing them

closer and closer to the shore.

The predators sense

a change in the ocean,

in its temperature, in the

presence of plankton.

In the oil secreted

by advancing shoals

and possibly even in the arrival

of other predatory

species in the region.

The sharks may have

taken the pilot shoals,

but now, all the Wild Coast's

predators are on the move.

Gannets take to the air in

greater numbers than ever.

They can dive from

as high as 100 feet,

and plunge as deep as 30.

They can hit the water at

speeds of up to 30 miles per hour.

The dolphins are

searching for the shoals,

pods joining together

to form superpods.

They gather momentum,

and prepare to charge.

Throughout the 20th century,

sardine shoals were so huge

that millions of them would be

sidetracked into the shallows

where they were taken in nets,

buckets, even upturned skirts.

This is what became

known as the "Sardine Run."

In recent years, sardines have been

reaching the northern beaches

in fewer and fewer numbers.

As the ocean temperatures rise,

the conditions will be

less favorable for the shoals

to approach the shallows.

As the ocean changes,

their behavior

will also change.

Further south, however,

on the Wild Coast,

there is still an

abundance of activity,

like nowhere else on Earth.

The shoal has been

forced to the surface.

It twists and turns and

scatters, dazzling its attackers.

The sea is alive with predators,

unconcerned with each other,

focused only upon taking the sardines

from every conceivable direction.

An undersea battle has begun!

So how do we fit

into the food chain?

If we have to squeeze

the fish into the can

or pack it in ice

...what can we do to

keep our oceans Alive?

Can we control

ourselves just enough

to share the sea with

the other predators

at the top of the food chain?

Can we control

ourselves just enough

to keep the circle of life

spinning beneath the waves?

What would it take?

Once upon a time

all the world's oceans

were as rich and vital

as the Wild Coast.

What would it take

to bring the world's

oceans back to life?

It is time for a sea change.

In the late nineteenth century,

French scientist,

Marcel Herubel first proposed

the concept of marine reserves.

He suggested that

whole areas of the ocean,

the fish hatcheries

and nurseries, be protected.

No one listened.

Right now, over 12% of

the world's land is protected,

yet less than one hundredth

of one percent of the ocean

is a marine reserve.

New Zealand and South

Africa now lead the way,

with South Africa committing

to protecting 20% of its coastline.

If the rest of

the world were to follow,

there would be hope

for our ocean wilderness.

Hope for the great shoals

and for the predators.

For now, there is a place

where we can have a glimpse

of what the oceans of

the world would have looked like

hundreds of years ago...

and perhaps,

one day, could again...

This is the Wild Ocean

This is where

Africa meets the Sea.